Highland Origin Coffee
I finally had the chance to go by Highland Origin Coffee today. What a great space that is — lots of windows, great colors, and pretty good coffee and snacks to boot.
I spoke with one of the owners, Hareg, who told me Highland is a family business, and they’ve been in the area for almost 10 years. What spurred the opening of the shop, I’m not sure, but it’s about time someone filled this little niche so I didn’t have to walk all the way to Mayorga.
While they opened a couple of weeks ago, their Grand Opening is going on now through Wednesday, May 31. Daily festivities include:
- 9:00-10:00am: Free coffee
- 12:30-1:30pm: Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
- 3:00-4:00pm: New Product Testing
- 6:00pm: “Black Gold” Documentary on International Coffee Trade
In addition to the expected coffee, cakes and pastries are from the Watergate (yum!), and ice cream is available from the PA-based Jack & Jill Creamery. Free WiFi comes standard, of course. And artwork is on display (and available for sale, I assume) from local artists. And as an added bonus, a portion of the proceeds from coffee sales is donated to the environmental preservation of the Chesapeake Bay.
Make your way down and start supporting!
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Highland Origin’s arrival helps further tip the ratio of Starbucks to non-Starbucks coffee stores further in the direction of the local venues. By my count, there are now three local Coffee places in Downtown Silver Spring (Highland Origin, Mayorga, and Kefa), and two Starbucks (the one by the Metro and the one on Ellsworth). I suppose when you add the Caribou coffee and the cafe at Borders, as the chains still outnumber the locals.
More information on how to compare the ratio of starbucks to non-starbucks’ in zip codes across the united states can be found at http://www.delocator.net
May I be the first to say, Starbucks sucks! They chastize you for ordering in anything but Starbuckspeak. Just give me a large friggin’ laite, and make sure the milk comes from something with a teat. Even Caribou & Whole Paycheck understand that!
Maybe we should arrange a Kefa-Highlands Ethiopian coffee smackdown. (BTW, the coffee at Cinnabuns is much darker than Ethiopian coffee)
For those of you who are interested in the issue of Fair trade, there is a powerful documentary out called “Black Gold,” that documents the lives of Ethiopian coffee farmers and clearly demonstrates why all of us should be asking for Fair Trade coffee. “Black Gold” was recently released in the theater but is now available to the public on DVD via California Newsreel. You can read more about the documentary or pick up a copy of it here at http://newsreel.org/
How ’bout some more frequent posting?? Do you have a new baby or something??
I stopped by Highland Origin Coffee over the weekend and sampled their coffee, a cake and ice cream from my girlfriend’s cup. All was great. I also had a chance to chat with one of the owners who was eager to share the quality and freshness of his coffee. I was reminded that coffee originated from Ethiopia and Highland specializes in Ethiopian coffee. The superfast wireless internet is free. Wish you best, Highlanders.
I do like this place… I go there every weekend now.